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Response of the amphibian tadpole Xenopus laevis to atrazine during sexual differentiation of the ovary
Author(s) -
TaveraMendoza Luz,
Ruby Sylvia,
Brousseau Pauline,
Fournier Michel,
Cyr Daniel,
Marcogliese David
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620210621
Subject(s) - xenopus , biology , gonad , ovary , amphibian , atrazine , medicine , atresia , african clawed frog , endocrinology , sexual differentiation , tadpole (physics) , salientia , andrology , metamorphosis , anatomy , pesticide , larva , ecology , genetics , particle physics , gene , physics
Xenopus laevis tadpoles (stage 56) were exposed to 21 μg/L atrazine under laboratory‐controlled conditions in a static system. Following a 48‐h exposure period at 21 ± 0.5°C during sexual differentiation, tadpoles were fixed, and the kidney‐gonad complex was microdissected. Quantitative histological analysis revealed in a trazine‐exposed ovaries a significant ( p < 0.05) increase in frequency of secondary oogonia. Atresia, or oogonial resorption of both primary and secondary oogonia, also increased significantly ( p < 0.05). The results suggest that these primary germ cells, which constitute the total number of germ cells in the ovary for the reproductive life of the organism, were reduced by 20% following a 48‐h exposure period compared to 2% in controls.